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WhatsApp is dropping support for iOS 8 in early 2020

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Facebook messaging apps
Coming soon to an iPhone near you?
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

WhatsApp today confirmed it will drop support for devices running iOS 8 early next year.

You’ll need to update to iOS 9 or later to continue using the app. WhatsApp warns that some features could stop working at any time after support ends in February.

WhatsApp will soon stop working on iOS 7

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WhatsApp
You’ll need a new iPhone if you can’t update to iOS 8 or later.
Photo: Killian Bell/Cult of Mac

If you’re still rocking an older iPhone running iOS 7, you’re going to need to upgrade if you want to continue using WhatsApp.

The world’s biggest messaging service will soon stop working on iOS 7 devices. Other aging operating systems are going to get left out in the cold, too.

Microsoft admits the Windows Mobile platform is dead

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Windows 10 Mobile
Windows phones could be about to make a comeback.
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft’s effort to compete with Android and iOS is over.

In a series of tweets, the company’s vice president of operating systems admitted that there will be no new features or hardware for Windows 10 Mobile in the future. He blamed the decision on a lack of support from third-party app developers.

NYPD will scrap 36,000 Windows Phones for iPhones

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5 tips to fix an unresponsive iPhone screen
New York cops will soon own iPhones.
Photo: Ste Smith/Cult of Mac

The New York Police Department will scrap the 36,000 Windows Phones it bought for cops over the past two years and replace them with iPhones, a new report claims.

The first iPhones will be introduced just two months after the last Windows Phone was handed out, the New York Post reports. The Windows Phones were introduced as part of a $160 million initiative that Mayor Bill de Blasio referred to as “a huge step into the 21st century.”

WikiLeaks: CIA lost control of its iPhone hacking arsenal

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Wikileaks'
Wikileaks' "Vault 7" data dump allegedly reveals CIA hacking tools used to compromise iPhones, Android phones and other devices.
Image: Gordon Johnson/Pixabay

The Central Intelligence Agency has been using malware to spy on iPhone and Android users, according to the largest-ever publication of confidential documents from WikiLeaks — and the spy tools are now in the hands of others.

As part of a covert hacking program, the CIA created a “malware arsenal” and dozens of “zero day exploits” to infiltrate smartphones, tablets and even smart TVs to extract data and turn them into covert microphones.

But the agency recently lost controls of these tools. Those who have obtained them now have “the entire hacking capacity of the CIA” at their disposal, according to WikiLeaks.

Microsoft’s smartphone team is on its last legs

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windows phone
Is this the blue screen of death for Microsoft's phones?
Photo: Microsoft

Microsoft may be doing great in some areas of its business, but it’s struggling in others — with “exhibit A” being its smartphone business.

Having sold off its feature phone business this month, Microsoft has now announced plans to “scale back” its smartphone output — which will impact “up to 1,850 jobs worldwide,” although Microsoft still claims it’s got some “great new devices” being developed for the future.

Check out Terry Myerson, Microsoft’s head of Windows’ message to employees: